Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 30) While the country has recorded cases of vaccinated people contracting the coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration said these breakthrough infections are notably lower among those who have completed two doses.
“Nakikita po natin na meron pa pong nagkakaroon ng COVID pero kakaunting-kaunti na lamang po even after the first dose, and it drastically goes down after the second dose, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in a briefing on Wednesday.
[Translation: We have observed that vaccinated people still get infected, but the number of such cases is very low after the first dose and drastically goes down after the second dose.]
It takes at least two weeks after receiving the second anti-coronavirus shot for one to be considered fully vaccinated, Domingo noted. Health experts have also reiterated that no vaccine provides 100% protection, but all prevent severe forms of the disease.
How many breakthrough cases has the PH seen?
According to the FDA, around 3.7 million people nationwide have received at least one dose of the Sinovac vaccine. The count is at 2.1 million people for AstraZeneca; 321,362 for Pfizer; and 61,860 for Sputnik V.
Of these inoculated individuals, it said the country has recorded 439 breakthrough cases.
These are people who got infected after only one dose, within 14 days of receiving their second dose, and more than 14 days after.
For those who haven’t completed their vaccination, the FDA said 173 infections were tallied from the Sinovac group, 188 from AstraZeneca, five from Sputnik V, and five from Pfizer. From these figures, 22 died 11 each from the Sinovac and AstraZeneca groups after falling ill with severe COVID-19.
The FDA chief, however, said brands shouldnt be compared as the total number of doses administered are not the same.
He added they have different intervals between the first and second shot. For instance, Sinovac vaccine recipients wait for four weeks, while AstraZeneca vaccinees wait for eight to 12 weeks.
What about those who already received their second dose?
The FDA chief said the number of breakthrough cases plummet in the case of those who have completed their vaccination.
The number is down to 33 for those who got infected within 14 days after their second shot. Broken down into brands, 27 are from the Sinovac group, five from AstraZeneca, and one from Sputnik V.
Meanwhile, the FDA said 35 still caught the virus after more than two weeks of getting their second dose. Thirty-three are from the Sinovac group, and one each from AstraZeneca and Pfizer.
“Pero [But] again, all of these are mild, Domingo said. And 33 out of 1.6 million (individuals fully vaccinated with Sinovac) is a very, very low percentage.
No deaths were recorded among those who have finished their two doses.
Domingo also said only 0.6% of Filipinos have reported adverse events following immunization, and most of these are only mild side effects.
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“Nakikita naman natin na mas malaki po ang benepisyo satin ng pagbabakuna kaysa kung tayo ay hindi mabakunahan [We can see that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks],” he said.
This week, the country breached the 10-million mark in COVID-19 vaccines administered, but only around 2.5 million individuals are fully inoculated.
While the country has recorded cases of vaccinated people contracting the coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration says these “breakthrough” infections are notably lower among those who have completed two doses.
